John Lynch will serve as Bucs' color analyst

Former safety John Lynch will serve as the color analyst for the Buccaneers' preseason television broadcasts in 2009, according to a news release issued by the team.

News Channel 8 WFLA-TV will produce three preseason games in 2009: at Tennessee on August 15, at Jacksonville on August 22 and against Houston in the preseason finale on September 4.

Lynch will join Chris Myers, who enters his seventh season as the Buccaneers play-by-play man, in the broadcast booth.

Lynch, a nine-time Pro Bowler, retired in 2008 after 15 years in the NFL. In addition to his preseason duties, Lynch will be a first-year analyst on the NFL on Fox for regular season games in 2009.

“I was blessed to play in the National Football League for 15 years,” said Lynch. “During that time, I took great pride in playing the game of football with the utmost passion. I look forward to bringing that same passion into the broadcast booth and communicating my love for the game to the viewers.

“I am excited to begin this new chapter of my career in Tampa, the city where my playing career began. It is a community that has been so meaningful and supportive to me and my family throughout the years and I look forward to connecting to the great Buccaneer fans once again. I am excited to work with Chris, and thank WFLA and the Buccaneers for this opportunity.”

Lynch joins a long list of former Bucs now working as NFL analysts on TV -- former coach Jon Gruden will work as part of ESPN's "Monday Night Football" broadcasts this fall, coach Tony Dungy will be part of NBC's "Football Night in America" show, defensive tackle Warren Sapp is an analyst for NFL Network, and former Bucs Keyshawn Johnson, Trent Dilfer and Shaun King work for ESPN.

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